The Cult of Destruction and Cynicism

The Greek word logos has multiple meanings, including "word," "thought," or "principle." Deep and extended exercises in the realm of thought/idea through the vehicle of reason can take us down some dark corridors if we are not grounded in logos as defined by John. "In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word (Logos) was with God, and the Word (Logos) was God" (John 1:1).

But God grounds us and guides us if we are willing to listen. If we are not, we can become fascinated with myopia and pessimism as seemed to have happened with Schopenhauer.  

"Schopenhauer’s particular characterization of the world as Will is nonetheless novel and daring. It is also frightening and pandemonic: he maintains that the world as it is in itself (again, sometimes adding “for us”) is an endless striving and blind impulse with no end in view, devoid of knowledge, lawless, absolutely free, entirely self-determining and almighty. Within Schopenhauer’s vision of the world as Will, there is no God to be comprehended, and the world is conceived of as being inherently meaningless. When anthropomorphically considered, the world is represented as being in a condition of eternal frustration, as it endlessly strives for nothing in particular, and as it goes essentially nowhere. It is a world beyond any ascriptions of good and evil." - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy 

A cult of destruction and cynicism may be "daring" but it is not new. It is as old as the events leading up to the first dragon falling from the sky.

Some Thoughts on Raskolnikov's Transformation in Crime and Punishment and Why Sonya is the Hero and Raskolnikov Merely the Protagonist

Do you still need to add a spoiler alert for a book published 158 years ago?

Although it's unlikely that Dostoevsky read Nietzsche, Raskolnikov believed that certain people were above moral codes if it served a higher purpose. This belief led him to justify killing the old pawnbroker with an axe. Raskolnikov saw himself as a kind of pre-Nietzschean Übermensch, though, unlike Nietzsche, he still believed that most people were bound by a moral code.

Nietzsche’s Übermensch represents an idealized version of humanity that has transcended traditional morality, especially the Christian values of obedience, humility, and an afterlife-focused worldview. Nietzsche believed these values were life-denying and led to nihilism—the idea that life has no inherent meaning.

However, Nietzsche did not envision the Übermensch merely rejecting these values and passively evolving into "his own God." Instead, the Übermensch actively creates his own values and purpose in the face of existential realities, embracing life and its inherent meaninglessness without relying on external sources of morality or transcendence. Nietzsche saw the Übermensch as a response to nihilism, not something that emerges after it.

Once Raskolnikov confesses to the murder and is sent to Siberia, he is gradually transformed by Sonya, who represents divine love, or Christian charity—the pure love of Christ. While Raskolnikov initially remains unconvinced that he committed a moral sin, believing instead that his only mistake was confusing himself for an Übermensch, Sonya’s constant, unconditional love slowly breaks down his defenses.

This brings up an important point: Nietzsche’s Übermensch draws strength from the body and esteems the material world, rejecting reliance on a fictional or transcendent source of meaning. Yet, as Sonya demonstrates, divine love manifests in the here and now, in service to others. Christ's teachings directly oppose those who neglect to follow the first and second great commandments, as seen in Matthew 25:

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me... Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (Matthew 25:34-40).

Through Sonya, Dostoevsky illustrates that it is only through Christian charity that one can transcend the nihilism of the present world and become a beacon of love and light for those who are hardened and lost. Her influence even extends to the entire prison, confounding Raskolnikov and gradually breaking down his intellectual defenses. Sonya’s Christian charity not only redeemed her from a life of prostitution, but it also saved Raskolnikov from the grip of nihilism.